Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase (MKAB), Romania
The air base at Mihail Kogalniceau, better known as "MK," has been in use by the U.S. military since 1999. In 2003, it was one of four Romanian military facilities used by U.S. military forces as a staging area for the invasion of, and ongoing counter-insurgency efforts there. Since then, MK has become one of the main operating bases of United States Army Europe's Task Force East, a rotating task force initially to be provided by the U.S. 2nd Cavalry Regiment, now a brigade-sized force.
As of 2009, the U.S. has spent $48 million upgrading the base. In that same year, the U.S. began operating a Permanent Forward Operating Site. MK is home to the Romanian Air Force 863rd Helicopter Squadron which operates IAR-330L's. The U.S. Army 21st Theater Sustainment Command and Air Force 780th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron are responsible for U.S. operations.
After February 24th 2022 MK became NATO’s eastern-most location, with troops flying in from almost all NATO countries. The Battle Group, under French leadership was initially established here, to be later moved to Cincu. V Corps was assigned Senior Responsible Role and Division-sized elements moved in.
Novo Selo Training Area (NSTA), Bulgaria
The Novo Selo Training Area is a major Bulgarian military training facility established in 1962. NATO and other nations use the training area, frequently. The range has a surface area of 144 square kilometers (55.6 square miles), and is situated 45 km (28 mi) from Bezmer Air Base, and 70 km (43.5 mi) from the port of Burgas in Sliven Province, Bulgaria. The facility has designated areas and sectors for tank shooting, and nuclear, biological, and chemical defense and reconnaissance training.
NATO experts and troops worldwide praise the training area's versatility. NSTA has become the favored site of annual joint US and Bulgarian exercises since 2004. The 2006 Defense Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Bulgaria opened NSTA as a joint US-Bulgarian military base. Over the years, the base importance and activities dropped as the time passed by. However, since 2008, the United States of America decided to invest a little in the base, especially since they had a clear agreement with the Bulgarians and the place is a strategical spot for the current invasions around the Middle East.
The US government invested so far more than $80M in a wide variety of upgrades and improvements in the infrastructure and technologies used on site. The interesting part is that the process is still ongoing, so more money is about to be sent that direction. There is no such thing as a permanent unit housed at Novo Selo Range. According to the 2006 agreement between Bulgaria and the USA, the soldiers deployed here must stay for limited periods of time. In other words, the tenant units are in a continuous rotation. They only get here for short term training sessions.
Visitor Access
All non-DoD ID card holders who request access to a U.S. military installation are required to either be escorted by a DoD ID card holder at all times, be on an approved access roster or be issued an installation pass. The INSTALLATION ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS office registers DoD ID card holders into IACS, issues installation passes to contractors/vendors and visitors, and processes installation access rosters for special events or persons who need short term access but are not eligible for an installation pass.